Are you more evolved than the food you eat?

Consciousness is defined as being spiritually awake, aware of one’s relationship with one’s spiritual self (as God) and one’s human self simultaneously. Consciousness is awareness of Divine Ideas, Inspiration, and the Essence of God.

What does consciousness really consist of?

1)     The Conscious State: Occurs at the waking level, which is external active thinking

2)     The Unconscious State: Occurs at the dreaming level with subtle images and impressions

3)     The Subconscious State: Occurs at the deep sleep level with a focus on inactive thought patterns

4)     Consciousness: Occurs in the level of the absolute with equal permeation of all 3 levels

Your level of consciousness using David Hawkins Level of Consciousness Scale is not to be viewed as a blanket statement. You may have strengths in one area of consciousness and weaknesses in other area of consciousness.

Because humans have to eat in order to survive, food can be seen as a true symbol of power. The choices we make in how to eat determines the amount of disease we cause ourselves, which ultimately affects the long term of whether we survive with quality of life. Food struggles are linked to emotional baggage more than any other factor. This emotional baggage lies buried in your subconscious until deep attention is given to clear and remove emotions held in your body consciousness.

As we raise the frequency and vibration of our over-all consciousness we begin to operate with a freedom that no longer binds us to material parameters. This is why when one reaches a high level of Food Consciousness they no longer require counting calories, calculating grams of protein, or restricting such foods as fruits, which are high vibrational carbohydrates. When you reach that level of Food Consciousness your inner wisdom will draw you to the very foods that God intended for us (plants) Mother Nature’s bounty.

Just as plants make their own food for themselves from light, we too will do the same. As the collective consciousness rises in frequency, a transition from human being to sacred human will cause our gut/belly to mutate and change the physiology of how it now works. Within this human evolution it is possible for humans to eat less man-made foods and return to the natural world for real nutrition. Eventually, humans will stop eating meat and eventually stop eating plants and make their own nutrition just as plants do. With that metamorphisis our bellies will be less dependent for digestion, rather now the belly/navel can be a place one contemplates and digests their oneness with the cosmos

If you would like to know your level of Food Consciousness: Email shannon@mindurfood.com Ask for the Nutrition Response Test. Shannon will grade your test and provide a brief report of your level of Food Consciousness using the Hawkins Scale of Consciousness for FREE.

Food as Medicine - Tomato

“Tomato…is it a Fruit or a Vegetable?”

“He that takes medicine and neglects diet, wastes the skill of the physician”
- Chinese Proverb 

The healing power of foods is emerging from scientific research, due in large part to the growing interest of health minded consumers. In fact, foods provided by Mother Nature have no confusion at all with the life force within its creations. It is us, our human nature that has the tomato confused, seeing it as a vegetable when it is actually a fruit.

“Foods with a purpose” is a new term awakening in the food industry. In the scientific world these are known as “functional foods.” These foods supply a therapeutic health benefit beyond the traditional nutrients they contain to mediate many diseases of the modern age, as defined by the Institute of Medicine.

Tomatoes are fruits! Any food with seeds is classified as a fruit, even though we tend to consider the tomato a vegetable. We may be confused about what tomatoes are, but the tomato knows it contains a potent cancer fighting property within its fruity substance called lycopene. The tomato contains many other phytochemicals, mainly carotenoids and flavonols, which also have antioxidant activity. This matrix of phytochemicals, working in combination with lycopene, is the primary reason the tomato has superb health benefits and cancer protection.

In 1999, during the meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research, Kuck O. et al presented a paper whose study showed a more direct relationship between the consumption of lycopene and prostate cancer. Lycopene protects against cancer by activating phase II enzymes, which defend against cancer activity.

You can get the most medicinal value from tomatoes by cooking them. Lycopene seems to be activated and becomes more bio-available when heated. Therefore, tomato sauce and spaghetti sauce become food choices that work within your body to protect your cells from cancer invaders.

Food as Medicine - Cabbage

“Cabbage, the Cruciferous Wizard”

“Let nothing which can be treated by diet be treated by other means”
- Maimonides

“Foods with a purpose” is a new term awakening in the food industry. In the scientific world, these are known as “functional foods.” These foods supply a therapeutic health benefit beyond the traditional nutrients they contain to mediate many diseases of the modern age, as defined by the Institute of Medicine.

The healing power of foods is emerging from scientific research, due in large part to the growing interest of health minded consumers. In fact, the foods provided by Mother Nature have powers greater than Harry Potter? If you were not aware of this….get on your broom and let’s fly away into the science and healing found within nature’s foods.

Cabbage is a force of nature with its powerful amounts of vitamin K and C. Just one cup supplies 91% of the recommended daily amount for vitamin K, and 50% of vitamin C. Believe it or not, cabbage supplies 11% more vitamin C than an orange. It is also a great source of fiber, manganese, and vitamin B6.

Cabbage also contains high levels of an antioxidant called sulforaphane, which fights free radical damage. Free radicals are like the core of a nuclear reactor. If it begins to leak radioactive material, it can be very dangerous to the surrounding area and our bodies’ DNA. Cabbage also provides double protection from “warlocks spells and curses” by stimulating enzymes that detoxify carcinogens in the body. Cruciferous veggies like cabbage reduce the risk of cancer more effectively than any other plant food group.

Try sauerkraut and improve your digestive health as potent probiotics work their magic! Cabbage builds strong bones and reduces allergic reactions. It also reduces inflammation and prevents plaque formation in the blood vessels like a cardiovascular sorcerer. The star of the show is the red cabbage, having seven times more vitamin C and four times more polyphenols than its green counterpart.

Did you know that cabbage was this magical…this powerful? We must remember that the right food can be medicinal – not just something to satisfy our taste buds. By eating more whole foods as medicine, we may just see those trips to the doctor become less frequent.

Check out: www.mindurfood.com

 

Local Austin people may order an autographed copy of the book Food Consciousness at:

shannon@mindurfood.com

 

 ***This article does not provide medical or any other healthcare advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

Food as Medicine - Dandelion

“Dandelion…not just a Pesky Weed”

The healing power of foods is emerging from scientific research, due in large part to the growing interest of health minded consumers. In fact, the foods provided by Mother Nature also share with us the energy found in the resilience of a weed?

“Foods with a purpose” is a new term awakening in the food industry. In the scientific world these are known as “functional foods.” These foods supply a therapeutic health benefit beyond the traditional nutrients they contain to mediate many diseases of the modern age, as defined by the Institute of Medicine.

Weeds are defined by their tendency to flourish at the expense of human intervention. A dandelion is a plant that is a weed only within a certain context. In a sense, weeds are harbingers of uncultivated earth, pushing their way into the human order of gardens and well-ordered plots, undermining our human supervision. In the wild, there is no such thing as a weed because the overall vision is in the hands of Mother Nature, which accommodates and incorporates all forms of life. The next time you see a weed, you might want to look deeply into its roots, discover its name, its habits, and its possible uses, rather than seeing an unwanted intruder. You may be surprised to find, like the dandelion, this plant you call a weed can share with you healing properties offering its leaves for medicinal tea or its flowers for a colorful salad.

One cup of raw dandelion greens provides 535% of vitamin K and 112% of vitamin A, according to RDA standards. Dandelion greens are one of the best source of beta-carotene, and additionally a good source of vitamin C, calcium, iron, potassium, and fiber.

Dandelion has been used for centuries in Chinese medicine to treat kidney and liver conditions such as kidney stones, jaundice, and cirrhosis. Dandelion supports the entire digestive system as a natural diuretic. The properties in the dandelion increase urine output and help flush toxins and excess salt from the kidneys.

Inulin, found in dandelion, is a natural soluble fiber, which is also found in the Chicory root. Inulin not only has a surplus of fiber, but also has prebiotic properties that provide healthy bacteria for the intestinal tract. Dandelion roots, leaves, and pectin are all parts of the plant that provide various health benefits to our bodies. Dandelion is excellent for reducing edema, bloating, and water retention; therefore it helps reduce high blood pressure.

Dandelion greens are considered a specialty item in some areas, which can be difficult to find if you do not have a Whole Foods Grocer in your area. They also have a pungent taste, a flavor people either like or dislike. But here is a tip for you to try in order to incorporate dandelion is your eating plan. If the raw leaves are too bitter for you, try lightly steaming or sautéing them; heating seems to calm the bitter components in the leaves in order for your palate to accept and enjoy.

The dandelion is more than a weed….it is a plant that provides remedies and bountiful health to our bodies, thanks to its tenacious existence as a weed.

“Leave your drugs in the chemist's pot if you can heal the patient with food”
- Hippocrates

Check out www.mindurfood.com

Local Austin people can order Food Consciousness (the book) at: shannon@mindurfood.com

Weight Loss....always part of New Year's Resolutions. Why?

Before I give you my first blog for the New Year….I want to announce that the blogs for 2013 will focus on a new theme called “Food as Medicine,” which is an aspect of eating from your Higher Self in a state of mind you know as Food Consciousness. I will also intersperse some spiritual titles and themes as the year goes along. Be Well……may you find vibrant health body, mind, and soul.

Our bodies are living temples, and they deserve all the loving care we can give to them. This should include as our number one priority….eating consciously (from our Higher Self with Consciousness). Our bodies allow us to experience the world at different levels of longevity and quality, depending on how we treat it. Unfortunately, our bodies have had to act as the proverbial compensator because most Americans don’t treat or embrace their bodies as a temple. Are you not feeling your best? Have you put on some extra weight? Have you had to buy a new wardrobe because your waist line has increased? Do you continually go on the latest diet because the last one and the one before that was not sustainable?

You can make the choice to be good to your body and eat consciously starting today – if you are willing to go within and stop looking for answers outside of yourself that tell you to count calories/points, starve yourself eating less than 1000 calories, or eating pre-packaged food that isn’t even food.

The Standard American Diet (SAD) includes: 62% processed foods and sugar, 25% animal proteins/products, 10% fresh produce/plant foods, and 2.5% whole grains.

 A Conscious Eating Plan includes: 62-67% fresh produce/plant foods, 25% whole grains, and 5-10% animal proteins/products, and 2.5% processed foods/sugar.

Going to our center and practicing being in the silence are the first two steps that move us to create conscious choices and work from a deeper place of improving our health and embracing our bodies as temples. From this place, we can be gently honest with ourselves about the reasons we over-eat, eat certain foods, and follow the tribal mind of the Standard American Diet (SAD). Our bodies have a great wisdom within them when we pay attention and do not follow the tribal mind conditioning we were socialized with. A Food Conscious mindset invests in love and attention to the care and support of a beautiful creation that helps us experience this thing we call life with longevity and grace.

Women are told we cannot lose weight as easily as men, NOT TRUE!

We are told that once we reach the age of 35 our metabolisms become slower and slower, NOT TRUE!

We are told that if we want to lose weight we have to work out like maniacs, NOT TRUE!

 We are told that if you only have 10 to 15 pounds to lose - its harder than if you’re obese, NOT TRUE! 

How do I know this???? I switched to a mostly whole food/plant based eating plan to clear up my digestive issues and without it even being my intention – I lost 15 pounds within 4 months doing no exercise due to back pain. I now weigh what I was in high school and have kept if off for a year easily. When you eat as God intended these “untruths” are no longer barriers…..that is the real truth! 

Contest:

The first (13) people to provide two answers (both correct); to the one question below – will win an  E-version of my book Food Consciousness. Email your answers to shannon@mindurfood.com. Make sure you email from a viable and active email address as this will be the address the E-version of the book will be electronically sent. Only if you are a winner will you be contacted. The contest will go on until (13) submissions have correct answers. The conclusion of the contest will be announced on Facebook.

What makes a plant based eating plan easily bring forth weight loss and vibrant health?

#1 PHYTO - __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ S  

#2 MICRO - __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ S

Know Where to get Good Nutrition Information

There is a vast amount of mis-information on what constitutes good nutrition in this country. I am going to point out some of the misgivings that will become more obvious to you as you continue shifting to your True Self/Higher Consciousness that recognizes "real truth." I am going to provide you guidelines to use in order to decipher intellectually whether or not the information you are hearing or reading about involving good nutrition can be relied on as truth. American’s nutritional information has been compromised by “nutritional experts” who construct the standards of good nutrition (The Four Food Groups and the Food Pyramid), and at the same time, sit on boards of big food and biotechnology companies. Therefore, providing the real truth to Americans is in conflict with the big food company’s profits and agendas. Imagine these experts telling Americans that a mostly wf/pb based eating plan was the most favorable and healthful eating plan to adopt. What would happen to the dairy industry (milk/milk product) and the meat, poultry, egg, and seafood industries? Obviously this change in nutrition policy and guidance would not be good for the profits of these billion dollar industries, just as stop smoking bans have affected the tobacco industry which was killing people for years on end. Americans are confused about good nutrition because science seems so unreliable. However, science isn’t perfect because the human body is so complex and the nature of scientific research that is supposed to be curious is sometimes hi-jacked by scientists who have an agenda and are looking for their study to be well received. Add insult to injury, and we have medical doctors that are not trained to prevent or reverse disease in medical school; instead they are trained to heavily rely on pharmaceuticals and surgery. If nutrition were better understood, and prevention with natural treatments were more accepted by the medical community, we would not be trying to save people’s lives through pills and surgery in the late stages of deadly diseases. The status quo has miserably failed and it is time to make a shift in our food consciousness toward eating from our Higher Self by eating Mother Nature’s bounty of a mostly wf/pb eating plan.

The answer of where or who to get good nutrition information from is not simple, but I will give you a framework of guidelines to help you decipher if you are getting the truth.

Guideline #1 – Check Your Source

Look for proper credentials (Ph.D, MS, RD, LD, LDN). If someone claims they are an expert without proper credentials, be wary. A certification in nutrition without a degree in nutrition means that individual spent minimal hours compared to an academically trained individual. Chiropractors or nurses teaching nutrition seems reasonable, but they are not  experts and neither are M.Ds. Personal trainers and Life Coaches are typically among the worst sources you want to get your nutrition advice or plan from, although Americans seem to do so a lot. Be careful of individuals who do not have a nutrition degree, who interpret research. First of all, scientific literature has a language of its own and the average person is not going to be able to understand or interpret most nutrition studies. Look for the academic institution where the persons earned their credentials; there are a lot of online degree programs these days, which do not hold the reputations of brick and mortar colleges and universities. Tufts University and Cornell have one of the most prestigious nutrition programs in the country and of course there are others. If your source is an organization, do not assume that if it is a government agency that you can rely on the information to be true. If the information from a government entity is raw data like the USDA National Nutrient Database or Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity Values (ORAC) – then you are pretty safe with that data being reliable. Otherwise, look to organizations that conduct research like the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) or independent watch dog organizations like the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) for more reliable and neutral advice and recommendations. 

• Guideline #2 – Listen to the Language Used

If the information being presented is sensationalized with words “like poison or supernatural,” be wary. If it sounds like a panacea, be wary. If it sounds like it’s a magic bullet that requires restriction, special foods, or a special routine, be wary. If the information sounds “black or white” with no grey area, be wary. Look for information that can present both sides of an issue or provide an outcome or opinion that is passionate, but balanced at the same time. There is a difference between presenting vague information and neutral information, you want neutral.

• Guideline #3 – Always be Cautious

Be a super sleuth! Do not take information to heart without taking time to look into it more. If your intuition is making you wonder, that’s your Higher Self asking you to check in with your resonance of truth, just as I did with the Stanford scientist for the Atkins study.

A Conscious Cleanse can be Transformational

Most cleanses involve starvation, but a conscious cleanse goes far beyond the narrow emphasis of other cleansing programs that offer just food intake strategies, tonics, or pills. A conscious cleansing plan integrates mind, body, soul, and only whole food. A conscious cleanse is a holistic approach to cleansing that is a rare gift, encompassing a process that is more involved than the usually unconscious route of just focusing on foods, tonics, restrictions, and starvation.

Why do I believe in a cleanse? First, it is a way for your body to recharge, rejuvenate, and renew. The word cleanse stems from the word clean. Therefore a cleanse will clear your pipes, and  “clean” your cleansing organs along with laying down a foundation of new healthy flora for your gut (just as a gardener lays down nutrient rich soil). Once you embrace a state of food consciousness which encompasses a mostly whole food/plant based eating plan, a cleanse prepares your body to fully absorb and receive Mother Nature’s bounty more than if you did not make the choice to journey on a cleanse. 

Second, a cleanse is much more than a nutritional body cleaning, it is also a spiritual experience. I recommend either a 4 or 7 day cleanse of ingesting only whole/raw plant foods and plants in freshly blended juices, smoothies, soups, salads, or raw state. A conscious cleanse may bring up  emotional and soul level layers that require your attention to go to your center, use meditation, and utilize energy healing tools. Feel your feelings fully….you may want to journal what comes up for you and the food combinations that excited this transformation. Explore and love what is awakening in you, as your cleanse may feel difficult to complete because your mind may play games with you by trying to interfere with the process and make you feel uncomfortable. As with most spiritual experiences, your cleanse will connect you deeply with your body, mind, and soul which offers you improved energy, mental clarity, and anchoring to your God-self. Cleansing has the potential to awaken your body to heal on many levels. Almost every religion has some type of fasting or cleansing ritual – Lent, Ramadan, Yom Kippur, and the Buddhists and Hindus as these spiritual teachings recognize purification within starts with food energy.

A body cleanse is an ancient practice of the Egyptians and the Greeks. They would target specific organs that can putrefy and produce toxins and then utilize a cleanse with plants to purify the body and detoxify cellular accumulations that would otherwise harm the body. Our bodies naturally cleanse every day. It is a normal process that goes on within the cleansing organs of the skin, colon, liver, lymphatic system, and lungs. These systems and organs perform functions on our behalf every second of the day just as our heart beats without any thought given to that physical miracle beating in our chests. However, modern life and the tribal mind of socially conditioned eating interferes with our natural cleanse, hindering what our bodies truly deserve. Pollutants, chemicals, and other synthetic substances have burdened our natural cleansing system with more than it can handle. Therefore, the body has made an adjustment of storing these toxins in body fat, which is stored in a manner outside the regular elimination system, so we do not get poisoned. As you can imagine, these adjustments our bodies make because of our unconscious choices are not good for our health in the long run. 

You are what you eat….and what you have eaten and not eliminated! Animal foods and animal products such as beef, pork, chicken, turkey, fish, shellfish, milk, dairy products, and eggs all create acidic blood. Other foods that affect your cleansing organ systems are: sugar and sugar substitutes, baked goods, processed and fast foods, soft drinks and sports drinks, alcohol, coffee, prescription drugs and recreational drugs, cigarettes and other forms of tobacco. A conscious cleanse relieves the body of the stagnation that is created with foods that metabolize acidicly and elevates the soul with clean pure energy from Mother Natures bounty.

Recognizing Your Body as a Temple

Out of all the blogs I have covered so far....none are more important than this foundational concept. It is the Divine key to realizing wholeness and consciousness. This ideology is the closest to my heart and the essence of Food Conscousness.

 I have a strong resonance with this bible verse: “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” 1 Corinthians 3:16. This scripture is the very reason that I pursued two nutrition degrees and dedicated my life’s work to health care. It was very apparent to me as a youngster that health and a healthy body would be my passion and driving force in life. There is an old Arabian proverb that embodies a universal truth: “He who has health has hope; he who has hope has everything; so guard your health as your most precious possession”.

I like to substitute the word “gift” in the place of “possession,” as the word possess is of the ego and the word gift comes from a giver, which is of high vibrational energy. Your state of health is determined by the absence of symptoms in your body. Your health and your body are almost synonymous, so the Arabian proverb is stating the obvious truth that your life will not exist if you do not take care of your body. Yet, we have more than fifty percent of Americans slowly killing themselves and their soul purpose with every unconscious lift of the fork, among other low vibrational choices.

All the moments of your life - from enjoying the flavors of food, listening to music, and observing the beauty of a sunset - were all made possible because of the magnificence and complexity of your body. Our bodies create life and give birth to soul and flesh. It can create Egyptian pyramids and Golden Gate Bridges from our imagination. The body can run 100 meters in 9.72 seconds and climb the highest mountain in the world. In order for our bodies to perform any of these gifts they must send thousands of electrical signals known as neuro- transmissions throughout the body and maintain a rhythmic heart beat, which are by and large molecular miracles.

You may forget about these miracles happening inside your body and take them for granted, but why do we do this knowing the quality of our health is determined by how we take care of our bodies? This is where the disconnect to Source will lower your vibration and, as a result, your food choices will be less than Divine. Your body is always trying to maintain homeostatic health and metabolism for your optimal well-being, no matter how badly you treat it. Your body is always talking to you, although most of the times you choose to ignore what it is saying.

Symptoms, pain, and illness will eventually surface in order to get your attention. Illness is a mirror of your inner thoughts and beliefs, which tells you there is a false idea in your consciousness. In other words, something that you are saying, believing, taking on, or doing that is not for your higher good must be taking place – otherwise the symptoms, pain, or illness would not be created in your body. Your body, mind, and soul are all vitally involved in creating or healing illness. If you want to heal an illness, yet you still believe the answers are outside yourself and you do not clear the emotional or spiritual issues that surround that body ailment, it will remain in your body or reoccur again and again. Illness can be your greatest teacher. When you realize that every cell in your body responds to every thought you think….then your life, your health, and your spiritual well-being will be forever changed.

The Two Connections to Conscious Eating & Consciousness: The Second is.....Self-Worth

The philosophical journey to conscious eating and consciousness continues.....see if any of these portrayals look familiar to anyone you know in the mirror.

Although much of who you are changes as you journey through life, your inherent worth remains constant. You may have heard the term self-esteem to mean self-worth because the two are used interchangeably, but to your surprise they are quite different. Self-esteem is the measure of how you feel about yourself at any given time. However, your self-worth is not a product of your health, looks, talent, intelligence, or accomplishments. It is how you perceive your oneness with Source and the infinite power of that realization. Your self-worth cannot be taken from you or damaged by life experiences, yet it can be disconnected and hidden as if not there.

You are born worthy – your self-worth encompasses every fabric of your being. Your perception of your own self-worth is reinforced by your thoughts, words, choices, and actions. Each day that you appreciate yourself, treat yourself kindly, define your personal boundaries, be proactive in taking care of your body temple, and put God first in your life, you express your gratitude for your innate value. During periods when you lose consciousness of your self-worth, you may feel a lack of energy in your body temple from that disconnect. Simply awakening to this concept can allow you to rediscover your awe-inspiring self-worth within you because now you realize that your self-worth is not based on the fulfillment of expectations.

There may be times when you question….why it is that you do not know more about yourself and how you have been living. You may even criticize yourself for repeating the same mistakes of low vibrational food choices regarding your health. From the minute you are born, your God essence is yearning to have you connect to that oneness which builds your self-worth and helps you to support your spiritual self and your human self. You always know as much as you are meant to know at any given moment. Sometimes your self-worth can be attached to things like feeling you have to be perfect or the most popular of all….comparing yourself to others.

Having to be perfect is certainly not in alignment with your Oneness and value of self-worth. Yet, many people have this character or aspiration. When you are in the mindset of perfection, making mistakes and not measuring up are seen as failures. But if you remember life is an experimental journey of learning, then to be imperfect should be a prerequisite. Life becomes much more interesting once you let go of your quest for perfection. Perfection is an impermanent state. Your life changes more than it stays the same and even in this moment your hair is growing, your cells are dividing, and your blood is moving through your veins. Trying to hold on to perfection or forcing it to happen may just cause stress on the body and lay the ground work for dis-ease.

You are unique. There is no one like you in the entire universe. One way to honor your unique oneness is not to compare yourself with other people. It is human nature to want to compare yourself to others….especially if you think that they are better than you or have more of something you want. Your Creator thinks you are incomparable, thus it is not a good use of time to compare yourself to others. You may do this because it is easier to look outside yourself and feel like you’re deficient to others rather than realizing your desire for wholeness and embodying your self-worth. Every one of us is here for very specific reasons. Each of us has a life purpose to fulfill and with this comes the experiences and lessons made just for you in order to evolve as a spiritual being having human experiences. To compare your life to others when you have no idea what they are here to experience or fulfill does not benefit anyone – especially you. Realizing your value brings out the best in yourself, so that you can get on with living a high vibrational life, rather than preoccupying yourself with meaningless comparisons.

Realizing consciousness awakens conscious living which urges conscious eating. Self-love and self-worth are part of realizing your consciousness. As your spiritual well-being begins to elevate, you will strongly resonate and utilize the component of wholeness from Chapter One (recognizing your body as a temple). As you fully embody this component, conscious eating will be one of the gifts you will adamantly give your body in order to experience vibrant health. 

The Two Connections to Conscious Eating & Consciousness: The First is.....Self-Love

Within you are voices that often compete for your attention. It can be difficult to decide which one to listen to, particularly when their messages are all quite different, and sometimes conflicting. The One Voice however, only speaks the language of truth. Among all your inner voices, the voice that IS quintessential LOVE is the one that encourages you, gives you hope, and urges you to trust and believe in yourself. Struggle within oneself is often caused by conflicting voices inside of you. As you move through life, you get an assortment of messages from the various aspects of yourself. Some of your voices, such as the saboteur and the victim can speak so loudly that they drown out the voice of truth. Listening to the voice that IS quintessential LOVE will help you resolve internal conflict, so that your every expression is that of God’s love emanating self-love. The more you listen to and believe in what the One voice is telling you about your value (self-love and self-worth), the stronger that voice will become. Saying NO to the voices that are judgmental and make you feel ashamed will help you stop being afraid of taking the next step to realize your wholeness, raise your consciousness, and thus improve your food relationship, struggles, and bring forth vibrant health.

Many people, in seeking out love, tend to look outward rather than inward. Yet falling in love with yourself can be just as wonderful an experience as falling in love with someone else. While the idea may seem odd at first, even conceited or selfish, choosing to fall in love with who you are is a powerful act of self-love. When you fall in love with yourself, you can’t help but experience God. When you begin to look at yourself with fresh eyes, noticing the magnificence of what makes you unique, you discover how much there is about you to fall in love with and you can’t help but want to treat your body temple as lovingly and respectfully as you would treat anyone else who is special to you. Upon this revelation….being overweight, taking medications for hypertension, high cholesterol, being in-active and the other things that you have created with low vibrational choices – you won’t want to continue any longer. You will not tolerate this expression or ignore it anymore. You will be pro-active in making the necessary changes to elevate your consciousness and it will involve a mostly whole food/plant based conscious eating plan that is your Divine Self expressing.

Choosing to fall in love with yourself is a very personal process that takes time. There is no “genie in the bottle” that will snap its finger to make this happen. But there is the power of intention and the power of your Divine Self expressing that will motivate you to make necessary changes, encourage you to treat yourself with love, help you to take inventory of all your wonderful qualities, and teach you to nurture yourself with nature’s bounty, meditation, and physical activity

Self-love is really important in a world still comprised of low vibrational people who may not like you. Remember like attracts like, so when you run across a person who does not like you – it is most likely because they are not like you. Rather than taking it personally you can let them be who they are accepting we all have different perspectives. But more importantly you are not taking it personally because you love yourself and do not need their approval.

While approval from others is a nice feeling, when you come to depend on it, you weaken your foundation of self-love. As you reap the benefits of loving yourself, one of the most rewarding benefits will be your relationship with God that has a direct connection to all your other relationships in your life including food. The need for you to have everyone like you will be replaced by the joy of discovering that you are attracting like minded people to your life – people who are like you and understand and appreciate the truth of who you are. Living your life in the light and love of God transcends limitations and empowers you to “NOT live to eat”, but rather, “eat consciously to live.”

Begin a new conscious routine of attracting the natural bliss of life into your being by starting each morning taking several deep grounding breaths. Reaffirm the love you have for yourself. Say aloud a self-directed loving prayer that enables you to access and awaken your soul into making choices for your spiritual well-being and body temple health. Before you leave the warmth and comfort of your bed, be sure to tell Spirit that you are eager to accept the blessings “It” has set aside for you and that you will be operating during this day in consciousness. As you prepare to meet the day, visualize yourself enveloped in the energy of God with a bright light guiding you to fulfill your spiritual well-being. Gradually widen the circle of light until you are able to send it ahead into your future and then “be” in awe of what awaits you. Each morning as you acknowledge your love of self and love of Spirit, this practice will ensure that your day is suffused with grace and movement in consciousness.

What is Conscious Eating?

Simply….it is eating some form of a mostly whole food/plant based eating plan that works for you.

People who are expressing their Higher Self choose more whole foods and plants, water to hydrate, look within to heal their bodies, minimize nutrient depleted foods like sugar, use natural body care products on their skin, and give their bodies love through meditation, massage, and positive self- talk. Did I mention drinking water, water, water?  A whole food/plant based eating plan will consist of: nuts, unprocessed seeds, lots of fresh vegetables and fruits, and vegetable proteins providing natures nutrients without additional substances you do not need. Juicing is a wonderful adjunct to conscious eating.

Like most Americans….the idea of giving up virtually all animal products seemed ludicrous to me. The whole idea was strange from the perspective of my human self, but my spiritual self was assuring me that it would be easier than I thought. When I decided to make the move to a whole food/plant based eating plan I decided to dive in and forget about testing the waters. Interestingly enough, my spiritual self was right….it wasn’t hard at all! I knew I didn’t want to give up all animal products, so I decided to keep a few of the ones that I knew had the lowest amount of protein per gram as well as the ones lowest in casein (a protein found in milk). I will discuss in later issues why lowering your protein and focusing mostly on plants (fruits and veggies) more healthful for your body and evidenced in scientific research.

I believe I never had any food struggles or an unhealthy food relationship because I value my self love and self-worth, which are crucial to eating from your God-Self.  Add to that, I have always had an innate honor of my body temple. These three principles have kept me in Divine Alignment and subsequently I express high vibrational food consciousness and you can too!

Self love and Self-worth are not just ethereal beliefs or thoughts that enter your mind and then disappear. That information you call thoughts can shape your life and drive you toward success, happiness, and health. How you think and feel can have a profound effect on your ability to perform and achieve the goals that you have set for yourself and manifest your desires. But remember an optimistic mind must also be an honest one. Staying positive does not mean that you ignore unhealthy symptoms or your possible obsession with food. Positive thinking dramatically increases your chance of success in any endeavor including your food struggles.

When you are sure that you are worthy and love yourself; any achievement is within your grasp because you relax and look for solutions such as realizing your wholeness rather dwelling on your problems. You are also more likely to imagine yourself without food struggles then to stay mired in an unhealthy food relationship that produces illness and dis-ease. What the mind expects, it will find. Thinking positively may sound like a simple shift in consciousness, as it is, but it also comes from the mindset and value of self love and self-worth. We will begin a philosophical journey of how self love and self worth are connected to conscious eating and consciousness in the March and April release of this blog.

What is Unconscious Eating?

The simplest way to define unconscious eating is a typical Western diet. You may say to yourself that people who are eating a typical Western “diet” are making that choice consciously. Yes, I could agree with you at some level, but remember that consciousness is connecting to your Divine Nature and asking yourself….would God choose this kind of eating for me knowing it creates obesity and disease? Is it OK to treat my body temple so recklessly through the food choices of a typical Western diet and commercialized diet programs?

I believe we can agree that we all know what unconscious eating looks like because most everyone around us is eating from the tribal mind of the typical Western diet. So I am not going to go into the details of what that looks like from food choices or habits. Rather, I am going to talk about what unconscious eating looks like philosophically.

Just because an ideology or way of doing something is popular or mainstream doesn’t mean it is the best choice to make. Interestingly thou, part of the way something becomes popular is because the individuals within the tribal mind do not take the time to determine what is right for them. Instead, it is simpler to do what the rest of the tribal mind/society is doing. Unfortunately, when you approach your life unconsciously from both your spiritual self and your human self, your decisions are being made by default and NOT consciously. Going along with the tribal mind and eating a typical Western diet may be the result of pressure by family or peers or just plain accepting social conditioning to do things the way they have always been. It’s not easy to go against the grain….you may find people feel threatened when you make decisions and choices that are divergent from the ones everyone else makes. Furthermore, it’s easy to feel frustrated when you feel unsupported and misunderstood simply because you are elevating your mind, body, and soul from the tribal mind. But this is where connecting to Source and experiencing “It’s” strength and love for your body temple that will bring healing and a knowing that this new desire of conscious eating is your wholeness expressing.

When you are unconscious, you are sending your body messages that you are not good enough. Whenever you do this, you are creating energy that damages the body in the form of stress, aliments, and dis-ease by choosing unconscious eating as your choice. Being hard on yourself is a waste of energy and saps your mind, body, and soul of much needed energy to be used in positive ways. Maybe you can understand what I am saying by remembering a time when someone made you feel you weren’t good enough. Take that feeling and magnify it when you do this to yourself. If you tune into this unconscious message….you will intuitively say to yourself – I know this cannot be good for me. This is where self love and self worth create a foundation of consciousness with God that spurs an impulse to activate your desire to eat consciously. If you do not have self love or self worth in the development of your spiritual well-being or your human self…. food struggles may still worm their way into your choices and sabotage you from fulfilling a conscious eating plan.

So......what is Food Consciousness any way?

Food Consciousness is blending  nutrition (food) and spirituality (consciousness) into a unified state of mind that comes from your Higher Self. In other words, it is contemplating and noticing what your relationship with food looks like and what part of yourself is driving it.....unconsciousness or consciousness.
Consciousness is defined as being spiritually awake....aware of one’s relationship with their spiritual self (as God) and their human self. Consciousness is awareness of Divine Ideas, Inspiration, and the Essence of God. Consciousness and awareness can be used as similar and interchangeable terms. Consciousness is when you are able to realize what you are doing and then ask yourself….does this match your Divine Nature? In a state of consciousness  you observe yourself, noticing your actions, reactions, thoughts, words, and choices as if you were outside of yourself, viewing yourself as God would….because God is everywhere Omnipresent. Consciousness is the next step - while realizing wholeness to create real change. There is an unfathomable freedom that comes with this awareness which clears the way for healthier food relationships. Connecting to consciousness is to awaken to your True Self and how you live from that place of Divinity. Is it in a forward direction, moving backwards, or merely spinning in never ending circles?

 If you are moving in a forward direction you are probably eating a more whole food/plant based eating plan. If you are moving backwards you are probably eating a typical Western “diet”. If you a spinning in never ending circles you are probably eating a typical Western “diet” and then when you notice your bodies health doesn’t feel so healthy you will go on and off the various “commercialized diets” that are available and not so good for your health either. I use the word “diet” in quotes because I believe that “diet” is an ideology that is NOT of God’s energy and carries a low vibrational charge. The word “diet” was created by those wonderful marketers to hypnotize your human side; also known as the consumer. A marketer’s purpose is to brainwash you away from your Divine Knowing of eating mostly foods that Mother Nature provides, which will sustain you months and years on end. An eating plan has a high vibrational energy attached to it because an eating plan is just that, a plan, not something you do for a short period of time but rather for life!

People who are conscious, awake, and realizing their wholeness in order to fulfill their spiritual well-being will recognize their bodies as a temple and as one of the greatest gifts from God. When people operate from their Divine Nature, their relationship with food is not an unconscious shoveling of food in their mouth, a form of medicine, or choices made to go along with the tribal mind because that’s what everyone else is doing. No! A conscious soul finds their relationship with food easy….joyfully consuming Mother Nature’s bounty which gives their bodies Pure Divine Nourishment in honor of the “gift” they know they have.

In this day and age we know so much more about our relationship with food than our ancestors, and yet we eat and think about food in a way that is almost unrecognizable to past generations. Fuel and energy is the simplest definition of food. Understanding how your body reacts to food, and knowing what adjustments need to be made, can have a profound effect on your mind, body, and soul. However, the intimate connection between your eating plan and your spiritual well-being is less understood. The common thought is that food is energy for the body, but more importantly it is a gift for the soul. Some foods can weaken the functioning of the mind, body, and soul where your energy feels sapped, while others elevate the body system and support you to feel vibrant.

Taking the time to notice if anxiety, a foggy head, digestive ailments, or even mild depression may be linked to food can empower you to treat your mind, body, and soul with higher choices. Sugar, saturated fats, wheat, and animal products are known scientifically to produce inflammation in your body and change your brain chemistry which creates stress and dis-ease. On the other hand, water, fiber, nuts, unprocessed seeds, raw fruits and vegetables, and vegetable proteins provide natures nutrients without additional substances you do not need.

Most people are aware that it is important to choose a variety of foods to create a state of good health and well-being. The problem with this statement is….its too vague. An unconscious person can interpret this statement to mean choosing a variety of foods from the middle isle’s of the grocery store or eating from a variety of fast food restaurants. See how easily such a common statement can be misconstrued depending on the state of your consciousness and spiritual well being. Let me ask you this.…is that what Jesus would do??? Yes, I was being funny, but also serious at the same time!

We’ll discuss unconscious and conscious eating in the next blogs to come!

Spiritual well-being...... and your relationship with food

It is important to recognize that your relationship with food has a linear correlation with your relationship to “Source”. Before I go into what food consciousness looks like…. I want to address how spiritual well-being is the “bigger portion” of your food relationship struggles.

What is Source? I contend that it is God, Spirit, Creator, Higher self, True self, the Divine, or as Yoda would say “the Force”.

From the moment you are born, your soul carries with it an imprint of experiences from past incarnations and, most importantly, the essence of your Creator. You are in this body to work through issues to move toward “wholeness” so that your soul continues to evolve. Wholeness comes from making Source the focus in your life. The soul is the inward manifestation of your consciousness and your body is the living, breathing expression of that consciousness. Your soul (God’s essence) yearns for you to know your “true self” and find the peace that comes from within rather than outside yourself.

Your spiritual well-being is a reflection of your level of consciousness and connectedness to Source, which is demonstrated by your words, thoughts, choices, and actions. Conscious people form Divine routines that reaffirm self love, gratitude, forgiveness, and meditation, as well as taking care of one’s well being which also tends to include a Divine Practice that promotes healthy living and wholeness. People who are expressing their Higher self choose more plant based whole foods, water to hydrate, look within to heal their bodies, minimize nutrient depleted foods like sugar, use natural body care products on their skin, and give their bodies love through meditation, massage, and positive self talk.

However, striking the right balance between our human self and spiritual self is one of the most challenging aspects of existence. In your lifetime, you are responsible for nurturing and tending to both selves with equal love and devotion. Unfortunately as a whole, Americans seem to be in an unconscious state spending more energy tending to the human side of themselves, thus producing a society where more than half of us are overweight and obese. You are only “whole” to the degree that you can embrace both sides of your being.  Just as you must tend to the seed of your soul to ensure it grows and evolves, so, too, must you care for the body or “the meat suit”, as my sister likes to refer to it, to make certain the body is capable and healthy enough to play its role in your development. Denying the critical importance of one or the other can lead to ill health, emotional distress, and incompleteness which will shift you away from your journey to “wholeness”.

Through your relationships, even relationships with food, the universe conspires to teach you exactly what you need to be learning at any given time. Food may not seem like an obvious teacher because it may not look like your idea of a guru. But food, left whole and treated with love, embodies an energy that feeds the soul. When the soul is nourished by “wholesome” food, Divine choices breed vibrant health and provide sustenance that makes spiritual well-being come naturally. The people and situations you encounter daily teach you, if you are open and conscious to receiving their wisdom. Some people you know, and others that you just pass in the store or the sidewalk, are always teaching you what NOT to do…..considering more than half of Americans are overweight or obese. Why is this? What has happened to us?

Divesting yourself from what no longer serves you, such as fear and self limiting behaviors, are just some of the food relationship challenges you will face in this lifetime. As you awaken and embody your spiritual well being, you will become more attuned to your bodies desire for Divine nourishment. The Force of the Universe speaks to all of us through different channels and each of us have our own frequency and timing in which we become aware. Put God first and you will see your body temple as a gift to covet with conscious food choices that are created from a healthy food relationship.

Power Vampires...... create illness

I am writing this blog on the date of a full moon. Furthermore, October is the month that celebrates Halloween and whollah ….. you will find the title to this month’s blog to be timely and fitting.

When your body, mind, and spirit are in harmony, you experience vibrant health. Yet, sometimes you will get caught up in the stress of life and maybe allow people to take your power, which will get you out of balance. Just as with the seasons, your body goes through cycles of cleansing and times of disruption. Illness is a sign that it is time to cleanse the buildup of negative energy from “power vampires” or from the manner in which you are treating yourself.

Your body gives you signals when it is uncomfortable or stressed. But when you don’t listen, then the imbalance amplifies and a stronger message is manifested in the form of illness or dis-ease. The first step to restoring a harmonious being….. is to take back your power and turn on your consciousness.

The biggest source of negative energy comes from your relationships with people; it also includes being unconscious to your choices, and following the crowd. All your relationships with people and with food can be both the source of your struggles and your solutions. Reacting to a person (parent, spouse, or boss) by getting upset or building up resentment will only entrench you to allow them to take your power. Only by disengaging and becoming still, going inward to your center, can you begin to see how the “power vampire” just sucked the life out of you – the power you have inherited from God. When you use meditation instead of reaction, you will most likely find unprocessed emotions you can finally fully feel and release. The more you are able to develop this practice, the less you will be bothered by  other people’s (labels, lack of support, or negative energy) and instead, have a new way of responding without reacting.

People are in our lives for a reason, to show us something about ourselves that we would not notice otherwise. When “power vampires” try to sink their teeth into you with their mind games and power trips, you can remind yourself that you have something to learn and there is a part of you that is calling out for healing. This practice takes the focus off the vampire in your life and puts the focus back on you, giving you the opportunity to change the situation from the inside out.

If you don’t know how to handle the power vampires in your life…. you will likely react to them by taking on their labels, building up resentment, and continuing to make unconscious choices. These reactions will usually involve food, thus making your food relationship unhealthy and ultimately creating dis-ease or illness in your body.

Diving deep...... into willingness

Is your relationship with food causing turmoil within you? If so, you will find yourself struggling and even fighting with your thoughts and emotions when it comes to your choices with food. We have been conditioned to find the answers to our food problems (overweight, obesity, diabetes, hypertension, cholesterol) with “black and white” answers of (counting calories, controlling portions, fasting), and other good but insidious measures. Until you become conscious that the struggle is within you, you can’t turn your attention to your Divine Source. You must be willing to look where you need to and feel emotions that may feel uncomfortable at first. Only then can you choose to be open to all options, imaginable and unimaginable. In the process of openness and self examination, you may discover you are resisting something based on a condition, habit, addiction, wound, or a limited understanding of your “True Self”. What do I mean by “True Self”? Not the self that is known by your name, or the roles that you play, or your personality characteristics. No! The “True Self” I am talking about is your God Self Expressing. This Divine expression emanates from you because your relationship with and attention to God is first in your life, as exemplified by your choice of words, thoughts, and actions.

Stop limiting yourself to thinking the answer is “out there” as long as you keep looking. Many people use the hunt for answers to abdicate personal responsibility in order to feel some sense of power. But that sense of power is just “smoke and mirrors”. If you are willing to examine your relationship with food….is it related to feelings of loss, confusion, anxiety, trauma, or even some other reason? Then, and only then, will you allow a space for the Universe to move in your life and bring forth “sustainable changes”.

Opening yourself to willing examination may feel like you are surrendering or abandoning all that you believe. But at the same time, that is the point; it is an act of power – “real power”. The courage it takes to make a conscious choice…. employs the use of your personal will.  Being willing to “dive deep” is to be in a state of willing something into creation. It is a space of being and doing from a place of openness, where you can work with the Universe rather than resist it by looking outside yourself. When you take the step toward willingness or diving into it….. you open yourself to truth, possibilities, and the movement of Divine Wisdom in and through your life!!!!

As this process continues to unfold and your journey toward operating from your “True Self” reveals itself through consciousness, forgiveness, and letting go……peace will “be your state of mind”. In a peaceful state, your Divine Self is in the driver’s seat guiding you to make choices where you know your body IS your temple. Thus, your relationship with food becomes joyful, wholesome nourishment that isn’t perfect, but in harmony with both your human self and your Divine Self. Weight problems and dis-ease will, little by little, become a thing of the past. This process does NOT produce instant results like Jenny Craig or HCG weight loss programs, but if you are aligned with your Divine Self at all, the ego driven – “gotta have it NOW” - won’t even be in your vocabulary.

Spiritual bodies.... physical experience

We are on this earth, in physical bodies, because our souls have things to experience that we could not experience in any other way. Purely spiritual beings are in a place that is beyond the limitations of space and time where they can be in state of being rather than doing. There is no pain in the spiritual realm, because we know we are one with the limitless source of the universe. But here, on earth, our sense of limitation and separation allows us to feel our emotions and experience love, forgiveness, and compassion. We learn to understand ourselves through our relationships; relationships with food, people, and the world around us.

Ask yourself what your relationship with food looks like and be honest with yourself. Did you have a mother that told you - your plate had to be clean even though you were full; and you still unconsciously carry that conditioning in your mind/body organ? Are you emotional or stressed and use food as medication to feel better? Are you a person who loves to cook and uses the preparation of meals as a source of giving and receiving love? Do you eat mindlessly in front of the television because it gives you something to do? Do you order an enormous box of popcorn and a overly large soda at the movies because its a habit and that's what everyone else is doing? Do you have an addiction to food - where you find you are constantly thinking about food and will eat at any opportunity? Were you abused at a young age and find yourself using food to control your body image so that you intentionally become unattractive? There are many more reasons, emotional and otherwise, that will sabotage a healthy food relationship; even if you have good knowledge of nutrition. Soul wounds and unconscious behaviors wreak havoc with your Divine Knowing and must be acknowledged and healed before your struggles can slowly be a thing of the past.

Start by acknowledging your food relationship wound. Look into the mirror and say to yourself, "regardless of the wound that has contributed to my unhealthy relationship with food - I fully and completely love and accept myself".  Follow that thought inward to your Divine Power and recognize your own glimmer of light. As you become comfortable with this shift, you will have the opportunity to bring forth your God self to heal the emotional wound and allow you to start treating your body as your temple and make conscious food choices.

Once you remember and recognize that you are a spiritual being, you can revel in the challenges and opportunities of being human while knowing you are connected to Divine Source and Substance.